


Bathtubs and Whiskey

by RositaLG



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 00:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RositaLG/pseuds/RositaLG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack never realized how much he relied on her to help him carry the emotional burden of cases. She was always there, even when he didn’t want her to be, working through the case with him until it was solved. He was remembering now how exhausting it was to have to keep the ugliness of the world out of his personal life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bathtubs and Whiskey

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on a writing roll, so I'm just going with it. lol. I'll get back to "Learning Curves" in a bit.

Jack opened the front door as silently as he could. He had been told repeatedly to just walk in but it still felt foreign to actually do so. He stopped by the parlor to pick up her ever-present bottle of whiskey and a glass. The house was dark as he made his way up the stairs, but he knew them all by heart.

He made his way to the bathroom, waiting until the door was fully closed to turn on the light. He set the glass down and poured himself a heavy-handed drink before setting both the glass and bottle next to the tub. He turned the water on and undressed as the room filled with steam. He caught his reflection in the mirror and inwardly winced. He’d need a better excuse than his previous plan of ‘red tape and paperwork’ once she saw the bags under his eyes tomorrow. He wasn’t ready to tell her the real reason for them. 

When the tub was finally full, he sank into the hot water, letting it burn him just enough to make him feel something. He never realized how much he relied on her to help him carry the emotional burden of cases. She was always there, even when he didn’t want her to be, working through the case with him until it was solved. He was remembering now how exhausting it was to have to keep the ugliness of the world out of his personal life. 

He closed his eyes and saw the body of the young girl, probably not much older than ten, lying in the laneway. A single blonde braid, tied in a blue ribbon, was visible from under the sheet. 

Jack took a long sip of his whiskey and filled the glass again. 

No one, aside from the waste collector who had found her, seemed to even realize that the girl had been there. The area had been abandoned long enough that there were no neighbors or businesses to take statements from and no one in the entire state of Victoria had reported a missing child. 

The police had managed to keep it out of the press. Of course, they all knew that once it was released, there would be no amount of rest from the public until the case was resolved and the murderer brought to justice. It was in their best interest to maintain radio silence until they had at least one solid lead, although Jack didn’t know where it would come from. Mac’s autopsy had found that manual strangulation, most likely from a male, was the cause of death, which meant there would be no murder weapon to find either. 

_ Mac, sensing his frustration at her findings, silently offered him her flask. Jack shook his head once, silently refusing, so Mac chose to take a sip herself. _

_ Jack knew this was the point in the conversation where he would normally leave without Phryne in the room, but instead he took a chance and lingered, leaning against the door frame. He was desperate for a solution to even one of his problems and he happened to be alone with the only person in the world who might have an answer. _

_ “Mac…?” He started.  _

_ “I know.” She cut him off, reading his mind. “She doesn’t need to know about this one.” _

_ “She’s going to find out.” Jack knew there was no point in hiding it.  _

_ “By then, we might have answers.” She suggested. _

Jack wasn’t holding his breath. 

The small, quiet knock on the door was his only warning that she was awake. He must have been pretty lost in thought if he had missed the sound of her footsteps. 

“Jack? Are you okay?” She asked through the door.

“Yeah. Just in the bath.” She opened the door a bit and he waved her inside. “Sorry. Did I wake you?” He asked as he sat up straighter in her presence. 

“No. Well, sort of.” Phryne shut the door behind her. “I woke up to see if you were home yet. I don’t sleep well when you’re out.” She confessed with a tired smile. Her eye caught the glass in his hand and the bottle beside the tub. “Long day?” She asked. 

“Yes.” He answered unequivocally. “But I’d prefer not to talk about it.” He requested. 

She nodded silently, despite her furrowed brow of curiosity, and he had never been more grateful for the rare act of obedience. She moved to the edge of the tub, sitting behind him so that she could rub his shoulders. His tired, and now partially inebriated, muscles were no match for her hands. 

“Mm. That feels good.” He sighed.

“Thank you, I learned from…”

“No.” He stopped her short as he held up his free hand. “I don’t need to know the details about some Chinese healer in the Orient, or a man you met hiking through the jungles of India…” 

“Close. Erik Thorson, Swedish spa. And let me tell you, the man lived up to his surname.” He could hear her smile proudly as she soothed a particularly stubborn knot with her thumb. 

“Or Erik Thorson in a Swedish spa.” Jack stood corrected as he drained the last of his whiskey, trying to erase the man’s name from his memory. 

“And his wife, Brigitta.” Phryne added quietly under her breath. 

Jack choked on his whiskey, the liquid burning his throat as he coughed. He accepted the towel that Phryne handed him, wiping his mouth with it before tossing it on the floor and turning to look at her. 

“What?” She stared him down, daring him to make his comment.

“Nothing. It’s just that all this time, I’ve been worried about men stealing you away. I wasn’t aware I had to broaden my parameters.” He said as he turned back around. 

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes as she went back to work on his shoulders. “It was before I met you. An opportunity presented itself and I took it. I have no regrets.” She defended. “Besides, if you had witnessed their prowess of the human anatomy, you would have joined them too.” She added, just to push his buttons. “They found pressure points I didn’t even know...” 

“Phryne, so help me...” He shook his head, fed up with her shenanigans. 

“You’re smiling.” She whispered proudly in his ear. 

He was. 

“Yes, well, I’m a little drunk and my lover is more than a little insane.” He excused the smile away as he set down his glass. 

“Yeah, but you're smiling.” She didn’t care why, and frankly, tonight, neither did he. There would be enough problems tomorrow. “Come to bed, you need your rest.” She encouraged as she stood up.

“The one rarely follows the other.” He reminded her as he stood up and wrapped his towel around his waist. 

“Maybe tonight it will.” She suggested. “Maybe tonight, the gorgeous, tall, intelligent, currently naked Inspector will come to bed, slide beneath the sheets, and be left to sleep next to his equally gorgeous, shorter, but far more intelligent partner.”

“Mmm, I don’t like his odds.” He said as he stepped towards her.  

“Why’s that?”

“Because he has been drinking and is desperate to forget his terrible day, and his partner, while both beautiful and smart, cannot keep her hands to herself.” He teased, but she was facing him now and could read him better.

“Was your day really that terrible?” She asked as she placed a hand on his face.

“Yes.” He nodded solemnly and she frowned with worry. “It turns out that,” he paused, swallowing the lump in his throat, “my partner has slept with every masseuse in Sweden.” 

The dawning realization that he was toying with her played out over her features beautifully,  and ended with a scoff and a slap to his shoulder for his playful malice. Still, he couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from inside him at her unamused face. 

“Damn your dry humor.” She said as she began walking away. In a move so smooth, he’d never be able to replicate it, he reached out for her hand and managed to fluidly pull her back against him, kissing her his apology as soon as her lips hit his. 

When she finally pulled apart from him, she glanced down at her wet silk pajamas. 

“Just for that, I’m going to keep you up all night long.” She promised as she unexpectedly launched herself at him, wrapping her legs around his waist, and kissing him soundly.

Jack managed to hold on to her but as he made his way to their bed, his towel (and his morose thoughts) fell to the side, crumpling into an abandoned heap on the bathroom floor.


End file.
